THREE BIG BIKE EVENTS SET FOR COMING MONTHS

San Diego 
It’s a busy time to be a bicycling event organizer in San Diego.

Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, is juggling plans for three major events. They are CicloSDias, San Diego’s first “open street’ bicycle ride, set for Aug. 11; Bike the Bay, an annual ride over the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, pegged for Aug. 25; and Tour de Fat, a beer and bikes celebration on Sept. 28.

Hanshaw sat down Tuesday to chat about CicloSDias, which his coalition is helping to coordinate.

CicloSDias, which Hanshaw said was inspired by similar car-free events around the world, is planned as a free, 5-mile ride through Logan Heights, Golden Hill, South Park, North Park and City Heights. It will run along 30th Street on a route closed to car traffic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

No registration is required. The event is open to anyone who wants to bike, walk, stroll or skate, as long as they’re using a nonmotorized vehicle, Hanshaw said. Families and pets (on leashes) are welcome.

CicloSDias, Hanshaw added, is a response to residents’ desire for more car-free environments.

“It’s not just about bicycling. It’s about public health,” he said while at his office in East Village. “It’s about being active. It’s about supporting our local businesses.”

Organizers would like to see between 10,000 and 20,000 attendees. Hanshaw noted that a similar event in Los Angeles has grown to 180,000 participants after starting just a few years ago.

He’d like to help organize two “open street” events in San Diego next year and three in 2015, at new locations. Hanshaw added that the San Diego region has some “catching up” to do with other areas in terms of being bike-friendly.

“There’s no reason we can’t be out front,” he said. “We should be leading the way for bike-friendliness.”